Top Ten... Movies of 2009

	#10 - Up Pixar does it again! I really enjoyed this movie. The montage towards the beginning of the film was very touching, and stuck with me for quite a while. A lot this movie seemed to me like it could have been made by Hayao Miyazaki. It has the same sensibilities. I'm just glad to see that an animated movie where many of the main characters are old men was able to be as successful as it was.
	#9 - The Brothers Bloom This is director Rian Johnson's follow-up to Brick, a film I just adored. It's almost as good. Johnson has a unique voice, and this wonderful cast was up to the task of making that voice heard. At various points in this film you will think you have everything figured out. Trust me, you don't.
	#8 - Zombieland This is the first of two movies titled "_____land" and starring Jesse Eisenberg to make this list. Just thinking about this movie makes me want a Twinkie... and I don't even like Twinkies! Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson & Emma Stone all shine in the debut film from director Ruben Fleischer. This film features what might be my favorite cameo ever. I see on IMDB that ther
	#7 - I Love You, Man Featuring my two favorite comedic actors, I Love You, Man is an absolute joy. I connected with it on many levels, not the least of which is that I could certainly use Jason Segel (or Paul Rudd for that matter) as a best friend. Rashida Jones is also excellent as Rudd's better half.
	#6 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince What a shock, a Harry Potter movie makes the list! David Yates second entry into the Potter franchise is MUCH better than his first. For the most part he gets the tone of the book. Like all of Yates Potter films though, there is one glaring mistake. How could he leave out the climactic battle scene? According to this movie, (*spoiler*) the death eaters broke into Hogwarts just to break some stuff in the great hall? Please!
	#5 - Adventureland Kristen Stewart has a personality? Who knew? Seriously though, Adventureland captures a lot of what it feels like to be a teenager without a plan.
	#4 - Star Trek I've never cared for anything Star Trek, so I'm not sure if it's a point in this film's favor that I love this movie. Does that mean they didn't capture the essence and tone of the series? Or does it mean they did so in a way that was actually entertaining? I don't know, and I don't care. This movie is entertaining and exciting from start to finish. I'm just glad Chris Pine didn't do a William Shatner impersonation as Captain James T. Kirk.
	#3 - Avatar Just as it did with James Cameron's previous blockbuster, it has become fashionable to trash this movie. I refuse to do that. The dialogue may be a bit stilted, and some of the performances might be a bit ham-fisted, but I don't care. This movie was a spectacle. I saw it twice in theaters, which is rare, and couldn't take my eyes of the screen either time. This is how 3D should be done. Nothing flies at your face. Instead it pulls you into the movie. Now they just need to release the 3D Blu-Ray!
	#2 - Up in the Air For me this is George Clooney's best performance. I am probably not the best person to judge this movie (or maybe I'm better than most), as my life is spent in airports and hotels just like Clooney's character in this film. For the most part, director Jason Reitman gets the life of a business traveler right. I mean, women like Vera Farmiga are always impressed by my different hotel and rental car club cards.
	#1 - (500) Days of Summer Not only is this my favorite movie of 2009, it is one of my favorite movies, period. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are ridiculously good in this anti-rom-com from first time director Marc Webb. Every single scene in this movie works. I especially love the expectations vs. reality scene. Apparently I'm not the only person impressed with Webb's direction. You might have heard of his next movie. It's a little flick called "The Amazing Spider-Man".

Top Ten... Movies of 2010

	#10 - The King's Speech By no means should this have won best picture, but it is certainly a good movie. One award that was certainly well deserved was Colin Firth's best actor Oscar. He is magnificent here. He never plays anything bigger than he has to. I wish the same could be said for Geoffrey Rush. I'm surprised there was any scenery left after he got done chewing it.
	#9 - 127 Hours This is one of those movies that gets you all gung ho about changing your life, living it to the fullest, etc. Carpe Diem and all that. Of course, that stuff is easier said than done, and you never change a thing. Still a good movie though. I have always liked James Franco, but never thought he was a particularly skilled actor. I was wrong. Danny Boyle's frenetic shooting style really suited this material.
	#8 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One David Yates really seemed to get the hang of this whole Harry Potter thing as the series went on. His "Order of the Phoenix" was probably my least favorite entry in the entire series. "Half-Blood Prince" was good, and this one is very good. The stakes are very high at this point in the series, and this movie really emphasizes that. The whole cast is great, thought the absence of Alan Rickman in this movie is definitely felt.
	#7 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I'm a big fan of the "Millennium Trilogy" book series, and this movie really does the series justice. Noomi Rapace is marvelous as Lisbeth Salander. It shocked me when I found out that she doesn't actually look and act that way in real life. Michael Nyqvist is very good as Mikael Blomkvist, but is completely overshadowed by Rapace's performance. The sequels ended up being kinda "meh", but this trilogy starter really does the job.
	#6 - Toy Story 3 I've been a Pixar fan ever since the original Toy Story. There have been some great Pixar films, but nothing can touch Woody and Buzz for me. This was a GREAT way to end these character's stories. I have to admit, I got a bit verklempt at the end of this movie. I mean, uh, I had something in my eye!
	#5 - Kick-Ass What a breath of fresh air this movie was! The tone was perfect. All of the performances were great, but two stand out. Chloe-Grace Moretz was amazing as Hit Girl, and Nicolas Cage was an absolute riot as Big Daddy. His Adam West impersonation had me rolling! I really hope the planned sequel comes to fruition.
	#4 - Inception Christopher Nolan has done it again. He has made a popular, mainstream movie that requires ACTUAL THINKING. It gives me hope for our species when a movie like this makes almost $300 million domestic. Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt completely steal this movie. The one thing that didn't really work for me was Ellen Page's character. She may as well have been named "Basil Exposition", as her sole reason for existing was to have the plot explained to her (and us). Otherwise, a great movie!
	#3 - Social Network David Fincher might be the best director out there. I mean, who thought a movie about Facebook could be so damn riveting? Aaron Sorkin's witty script comes to life in the hands of this great director and equally great cast. Jesse Eisenberg somehow makes me root for a character with no apparent redeeming qualities. His little rant about giving the lawyers the least amount of attention possible made me want to stand up and cheer!
	#2 - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Between this and Kick-Ass, comic book movies took on new life in 2010. I don't think I stopped smiling once during this entire movie. I'm not as big a fan as some of director Edgar Wright's previous movies (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), but he nails this adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel series (which I actually own).
	#1 - The Town Even as a fan of Kevin Smith movies, I never cared much for Ben Affleck as an actor. But man, can he direct! He follows Gone Baby Gone with the equally brilliant The Town. He is such a good director, he even coaxes a good acting performance out of himself, which I though impossible. Rebecca Hall and Jeremy Renner both light up the screen. The climactic shootout rivals Heat for the greatest shootout ever put to celluloid. I just wish Jon Hamm had been given a little more to do.

Top Ten... Movies of 2011

	#10 - The Guard Probably the funniest movie of the year for me, The Guard just beats out Super 8 for the final spot on this list. The first feature length film from director John Michael McDonagh features a hilarious performance from Brendan Gleeson. Perhaps Gleeson should only do films for the McDonagh family. John Michael's brother, Martin, directed In Bruges, one of my favorite films from 2008.
	#9 - Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol Finally, a legitimately good Mission Impossible movie. Why doesn't it surprise me that it took one of the Pixar geniuses to make this happen? Brad Bird is the man, and I will see anything he directs. Tom Cruise is good, and Jeremy Renner is even better. I hope Bird, Cruise, and Renner go on another mission together.
	#8 - Take Shelter I couldn't stop thinking about this movie for days after seeing it. I had always liked Michael Shannon well enough, but seeing this almost makes me want to revisit his other movies to see what I missed. He is absolutely riveting in this movie. Jessica Chastain is very good as well. I haven't see Shotgun Stories, the other movie from direct Jeff Nichols and star Michael Shannon, but it is now at the top of my Netflix queue.
	#7 - Fast Five I don't care what critics say, Fast Five is an absolute blast! The Fast and the Furious franchise has always been a guilty pleasure of mine (except for Tokyo Drift... wtf was that?). This could probably never surpass the original for me, due to pure nostalgia. But it comes awfully close. Whoever thought to add The Rock to an already pretty good cast is a genius.
	#6 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two I'm a Harry Potter geek, so this movie would have to be an absolute train wreck to not make this list. Luckily, they get it mostly right. Definitely the best of the Yates-directed Potters, Daniel Radcliffe really comes into his own here. If they hadn't butchered the final showdown, this might have reached the top 3.
	#5 - Hanna This one came out of nowhere for me. Who knew the guy that directed Atonement and Pride & Prejudice could make such a bad-ass action movie! Everything in this film worked for me. The direction, acting, cinematography, soundtrack... it all worked. I couldn't get that scene of the henchman whistling out of my head for days! Kudos to Joe Wright and Saoirse Ronan for completely nailing this movie.
	#4 - Warrior This movie doesn't really bring anything new to the table that countless other "against all odds!" sports haven't done already. But I'll be damned if it doesn't do it better than most. All of the credit goes to the three men that make this movie what it is... Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton, and especially Tom Hardy. That guy is a beast!
	#3 - Midnight in Paris I'm normally not a big Woody Allen fan. I've appreciated all of his films that I've seen, but I didn't really connect with any of them. That all changed with Midnight in Paris. The strange thing is that I usually don't care for Owen Wilson. However, he made a great Allen surrogate. Also, this movie is BEAUTIFUL. I never had much desire to go to Paris, but now I'm ready to pack my bags. The only real misfire for me was Rachel McAdams' character. She was just too much of a shrew.
	#2 - Drive This movie is so freaking cool! There are so many things I love about this movie. It has what is probably my favorite opening scene ever. Then later, it has an elevator scene that is even better! This is the film that cemented Ryan Gosling's position as my second favorite current actor. Surpassed only by the star of my #1 movie of 2011. This is the first film I've seen from director Nicholas Winding Refn, but I'll definitely be checking out Bronson in the coming weeks.
	#1 - 50/50 A cancer comedy? Who knew? This movie brings the laughs, it brings the tears, it brings it all. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is working on all cylinders here. The supporting cast is just as good. Seth Rogen is outstanding, and Anjelica Huston has some very touching scenes. Anna Kendrick just might be my favorite young actress. I got a bit choked up at the scene at the end between JGL and his father. This is a VERY underrated movie that you need to see right away!